(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to disk storage devices, and more particularly to a disk storage device for writing data to a storage disk and reading data from the storage disk, the disk storage device having a mechanism for making the disk storage device portable and thin.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional disk storage device 50 for recording data on a magnetic disk and reproducing data from the magnetic disk. In this disk storage device 50, a flexible magnetic disk accommodated in a disk cartridge is inserted into the disk storage device through an insertion opening 51 in a front frame surface 53 in a direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1. The magnetic disk is placed at a read/write position on a turntable within the disk storage device, so that data is written to and read from the magnetic disk by means of a magnetic head part.
In the disk storage device 50 shown in FIG. 1, there are provided a holder for holding the disk cartridge and mounting the disk at the read/write position, a turntable for driving the magnetic disk to perform the data reading and writing, and a slider which is disconnected from a latch lever when the disk cartridge is loaded, and which is moved to place the disk of the disk cartridge at the read/write position on the turntable. When the slider is moved in cooperation with the disk cartridge, the holder is moved toward the turntable so that the magnetic disk in the holder is placed at the read/write position on the turntable.
On the front frame surface 53, an end portion of an eject member 52 is provided below the insertion opening 51. This eject member 52 is connected at the other end thereof to the slider inside the disk storage device 50. When the end portion of the eject member 52 is depressed in the direction A by a user, the slider is moved with the eject member 52, so that the holder and the disk cartridge therein are detached from the read/write position of the turntable in conjunction with the slider. At the same time, an eject lever provided therein serves to eject the disk cartridge from the holder in a direction opposite to the direction A so that the magnetic disk is unloaded from the disk storage device.
The conventional disk storage device described above is usually placed on a surface of a table when it is used. However, the end portion of the eject member is located near the surface of the table, and the disk cartridge is ejected while the eject member is operated. The user may encounter a difficulty in that the disk cartridge is not smoothly ejected from the disk storage device, since the disk cartridge may interfere with the user finger upon depression of the eject member. Also, in the conventional disk storage device, it is necessary that the end surface of the eject member protrudes from the front frame surface of the disk storage device. The eject member may be erroneously depressed due to the mounting location thereof, and the disk cartridge is ejected even when the disk storage device is operating. If the disk cartridge is erroneously ejected while data is being written to the disk, valuable data stored in the disk may be damaged.
Therefore, in the case of the conventional disk storage device, there is a problem in that the user cannot easily and stably operate the disk storage device due to the location and construction of the eject member. Also, it is necessary that the end surface of the eject member has a certain surface area enough for the users to easily operate. However, in the conventional disk storage device, there is a tradeoff between the ease of use and the design of a mechanism for making the disk storage device portable and thin.